Book Reviews & Thoughts

The Possibility of Somewhere – Julia Day

This book was breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. It was about racism, classism, and the power parents have over our futures. Ash and Eden are bright, young, and driven. They have fantastic futures ahead of them, and I wish them all the best.

Synopsis

Together is somewhere they long to be.

Ash Gupta has a life full of possibility. His senior year is going exactly as he’s always wanted– he’s admired by his peers, enjoying his classes and getting the kind of grades that his wealthy, immigrant parents expect. There’s only one obstacle in Ash’s path: Eden Moore—the senior most likely to become class valedictorian. How could this unpopular, sharp-tongued girl from the wrong side of the tracks stand in his way?

All Eden’s ever wanted was a way out. Her perfect GPA should be enough to guarantee her a free ride to college — and an exit from her trailer-park existence for good. The last thing she needs is a bitter rivalry with Ash, who wants a prized scholarship for his own selfish reasons. Or so she thinks. . . When Eden ends up working with Ash on a class project, she discovers that the two have more in common than either of them could have imagined. They’re both in pursuit of a dream — one that feels within reach thanks to their new connection. But what does the future hold for two passionate souls from totally different worlds?

Review

This book was breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. It was about racism, classism, and the power parents have over our futures. Ash and Eden are bright, young, and driven. They have fantastic futures ahead of them, and I wish them all the best.

I expected this book to be told as a dual-perspective one, and I think it might have benefitted from Ash’s point-of-view. For example, he tended to be surrounded by his ethnic clique. As an ethnic minority, this phenomenon is definitely a common one. I don’t know why people gravitate towards those just like them, but it happens.

We get to understand Eden’s family struggles and prejudice based on her socioeconomic class. I wish we got to see the same with Ash, but based on his struggles coming from a different ethnic background and more traditional expectations from his parents.

At the end of the day, it’s not all fairytales and roses for these two. But that makes it authentic. If you depend on your parents to pay for Stanford, you have to play by their rules. If you bail your parents out of replacing the tires on their car… well, I think you deserve a little more freedom. But these are two good kids, and it’s nice to see that they care about pleasing their parents.

Also, huge fan of Kurt and Raj. And the Cruz-Holt clan. They are an inspiration to us all!